http://ultimateclassicrock.com/buddy-holly-richie-valens-big-bopper-killed-in-plane-crash/
February 3, 1959
At about 1:00 a.m. CST, about four minutes after taking off from the Mason City, Iowa airport, the chartered airplane containing Buddy Holly (Peggy Sue, That’ll Be The Day), Ritchie Valens (Donna, La Bamba), and the “Big Bopper” J.P. Richardson (Chantilly Lace), crashed into an Iowa field, instantly killing all three and the pilot Roger Peterson. Headed for the next “Winter Dance Party” tour stop in Fargo, North Dakota, the plane had been chartered by Holly so that the band members could travel in heated comfort (their tour bus had a broken heater) and arrive early for the next show. The pilot, not informed of worsening weather conditions, decided to fly “on instruments,” meaning without visual confirmation of the horizon, which led to the crash. Richardson was 28, Holly was 22, and Valens was 17. Don McLean later immortalized the tragedy in his classic song “American Pie,” calling this “the day the music died.”
Holly and “J. P.” Richardson Jr “Bopper” widowed pregnant wives. Holly’s wife miscarried upon the news.
1978
On the 19th anniversary of Buddy Holly’s death, his birth home in Lubbock, Texas was saved from scheduled demolition by its new owner who bought the house days earlier.
1979
A sold-out concert at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, was held to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper. Wolfman Jackhosted the show, which featured performances by Del Shannon, Jimmy Clanton, the Drifters, and an appearance by original Cricket Nikki Sullivan.
2009
The Day the Music Died – TIME
‘The day the music died’? Hardly – CNN.com
Remembering the ‘Day the Music Died’ – NY Daily News
February 3, 1959: The Day the Music Died | Mental Floss
https://dykewriter.wordpress.com/2013/09/13/buddy-raves-on/
This 6 LP boxed set of Buddy’s recordings from Lubbock to New York is one of my faves to play. Hearing the familiar That’ll Be the Day music to Buddy’s chirping “This is Norman’s ID” was hysterical.
https://dykewriter.wordpress.com/2013/10/13/hello-goodbye-to-the-big-bopper/
A few years back, the son of JP Richardson had his father exhumed.
The Big Bopper and Buddy Holly’s wives were pregnant when the tour started. Maria Holly had a miscarriage.
The son looked upon his father for the first time.
Apparently, the Texas heat had preserved him rather well.
in some cultures, that makes the Big Bopper a saint.
https://dykewriter.wordpress.com/2013/10/12/ritchie-valens-and-rocking-it-folk-style/
When the movie “La Bamba” came out, I thought it was a fictional story.
Like most of the audience as it turned out.
near the end, when Buddy Holly appears, I remember the sudden collective gasp of breath and moan of dispair, of the audience, myself included, realizing this was a biopic, not a fictional movie about 50s rock n roll.
we’d all been so cheering for Ritchie……
Our Daily Elvis 